740.0011 European War 1939/635: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:30 p.m.]
2262. For the President and the Secretary. I have just had a conversation with Leger92 who was in consultation this morning with Daladier and the chiefs of the General Staff.
Leger asserted that the meeting this morning had been called because the French Government now had information from diplomatic sources, military sources, and secret service sources which indicated that it was 98% certain that the Soviet Government had promised to participate in the offensive against France which is being prepared by Germany to the extent of sending 2000 Soviet bombardment planes. He added that French information from Italy indicated that the Italians were completely convinced that the Soviet Union would send these 2,000 bombardment planes to attack France and that in consequence Mussolini had decided that when the German-Soviet offensive against France should be launched the Italian air force also would attack France.
Leger added that all information available from all sources indicate that the German offensive against France would be loosed in from 5 to 8 days.
[Page 460]He went on to say that in spite of the desperate appeals of the French Government to the British Government to send British pursuit planes and bombardment planes to France the British had refused to send any first class planes on the plea that, in spite of their public statements, they were not in the least ready to engage in serious aerial warfare. Leger went on to say that the French General Staff was convinced that a bombardment of all the lines of communication of the French Army would be loosed by 6 to 8,000 bombing planes which would be without parallel for horror in human history. The General Staff was convinced that however bravely the French Army might fight it would be cut off rapidly from its base of supplies and destroyed.
Leger concluded by saying “The game is lost. France stands alone against three dictatorships. Great Britain is not ready. The United States has not even changed the Neutrality Act. The democracies again are too late. The Germans know that at this minute with Russian and Italian support they can crush the French Army. Therefore they will attack.”
I argued with Leger that it was against all the interests of the Soviet Union to assist Germany to knock out France and England completely. Leger replied that whether or not it was against what he and I considered to be the interests of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union had promised to give this support and what was equally important the Government of Italy was convinced that the Soviet Union would give this assistance.
Leger went on to say that the news of the military support which the Soviet Union had promised to give to Germany had now begun to percolate to the Committees on Foreign Affairs of the French Senate and the French Chamber of Deputies. It was for this reason that in both those Committees there was at the present time a profound and a desperate desire to accept the German-Soviet peace proposal.
As you know Leger has been consistently on the side of fighting whatever the cost. The views he expressed today were therefore impressive.
Since Leger has the absolute confidence of Daladier and is in most intimate contact with him, the above represents, I am certain, Daladier’s view of the present situation.
I have avoided seeing Daladier for several days since I have felt that as American Ambassador I must avoid having any influence on the terrible decision which now faces France.
I should be glad to know if you have any views which you desire me to express to Daladier in the present situation.
- Alexis Léger, Secretary General of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.↩